| |
|
OVC MBB Standings
2009-10 - Through Jan. 31 |
|
1 |
Murray |
17-1 |
30-4 |
|
2 |
Morehead |
15-3 |
23-10 |
|
3 |
EKU |
11-7 |
20-12 |
|
3 |
EIU |
11-7 |
19-12 |
|
3 |
APSU |
11-7 |
17-15 |
|
6 |
TTU |
8-10 |
15-17 |
|
7 |
JSU |
7-11 |
11-19 |
|
8 |
TSU |
6-12 |
9-23 |
|
9 |
SEMO |
3-15 |
7-23 |
|
10 |
UT Martin |
1-17 |
4-25 |
|
OVC WBB Standings
2009-10 - Through Jan. 31 |
|
1 |
EIU |
16-2 |
23-9 |
|
2 |
Morehead |
14-4 |
22-10 |
|
3 |
APSU |
11-7 |
14-17 |
|
4 |
UT Martin |
8-10 |
11-19 |
|
4 |
EKU |
8-10 |
12-17 |
|
4 |
Murray |
8-10 |
13-17 |
|
4 |
TTU |
8-10 |
14-16 |
|
8 |
TSU |
7-11 |
10-18 |
|
9 |
JSU |
6-12 |
9-20 |
|
10 |
SEMO |
4-14 |
7-21 |
|
OVC FB Standings
Final 2009 Standings |
|
1 |
Eastern
Ill. |
6-2 |
8-4 |
|
2 |
Eastern
Ky. |
5-3 |
5-6 |
|
2 |
Tenn.
Tech |
5-3 |
6-5 |
|
4 |
UT-Martin |
4-4 |
5-6 |
|
5 |
Tenn.
St. |
3-4 |
4-7 |
|
6 |
Austin
Peay |
3-5 |
4-7 |
|
7 |
Murray
State |
2-6 |
3-8 |
|
8 |
SEMO |
1-7 |
2-9 |
|
- |
Jax.
St. |
6-1 |
8-3 |
|
Courtesy OVCSports.com
Entering its 61st year, the Ohio Valley Conference
continues to build on the success that has made it the
nation's eighth-oldest NCAA Division I conference. In
2008, for only the second time in the past decade, the
Conference expanded by adding Southern Illinois
University Edwardsville as the league’s 11th member. The
move expanded the OVC’s geographical footprint to the
St. Louis market and marked the first change in
membership since expanding to the state of Alabama
(Jacksonville State, Samford) in 2003.
The OVC's proud past dates back to 1948, but seeds for
the new league were actually planted in 1941. It was
then that Roy Stewart, the athletics director at Murray
State, Charles (Turkey) Hughes, the athletics director
at Eastern Kentucky, and Kelly Thompson, the public
relations director at Western Kentucky, first broached
the idea of forming a new conference. Discussions were
put on hold by World War II, but reemerged Feb. 27-28,
1948 at the Kentucky Hotel in Louisville as the three
original institutions combined with Morehead State,
Louisville and Evansville to form the OVC.
In the 1950s, the OVC became a pioneer on a much more
significant scale socially. During times of racial
segregation, league member Morehead State became one of
the first non-traditionally black mid-southern
institutions to accept a black student. In 1958,
Marshall Banks earned athletically-related aid at
Morehead, which signed a second black athlete, Howard
Murphy, a year later. In 1961, Murphy earned
all-conference recognition as a halfback in football.
With racial barriers broken, the rest of the
institutions in the league began to provide educational
and athletic opportunities to African-Americans.
Through the past 60 years, 14 teams have won or shared
the league's football title. The list is led by Eastern
Kentucky, winner of 19 outright or shared football
crowns, including the 2007 championship when they
compiled a perfect 8-0 league record. Former OVC member
Middle Tennessee is next with 11, followed by Tennessee
Tech with nine, and Murray State and former member
Western Kentucky with eight apiece. Eastern Illinois has
claimed four football crowns (including winning the
title outright in 2005 and sharing the crown with UT
Martin in 2006) while Jacksonville State, Morehead
State, Tennessee State and former members Evansville and
East Tennessee State have captured two apiece. Austin
Peay, UT Martin (which captured its first crown in 2006)
and former member Youngstown State have one title
apiece.
Murray State and Evansville tied for the initial
football championship, and the Racers participated in
the first-ever bowl game by an OVC team, tying Sul Ross
State 21-21 in the 1948 Tangerine Bowl. From 1948 to
1975, OVC teams played in 15 bowl games, winning eight
of them. Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky were also
participants in the NCAA Division II playoffs in the
early and mid 1970's prior to the NCAA's
reclassification of football programs into Division
I-AA. The term “I-AA” lasted until the end of the 2006
season when it was changed to Division I Football
Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The first Division I-AA/FCS football playoff was held in
1978 with only four teams, which is the only year
through present day that the OVC did not field a playoff
representative. In 1979, four of the nation’s top teams
were invited to the playoffs, and two of them - Eastern
Kentucky and Murray State - were from the OVC. Murray
dropped its semifinal game to Lehigh, but the Colonels
nipped Nevada-Reno in double overtime and claimed the
national championship a week later with a 30-7 victory
over Lehigh. EKU was coached by former all-America
quarterback Roy Kidd, who was in his 16th year at the
helm of his alma mater and who skippered the Colonels to
a second national title three years later. Following the
2002 season, Kidd retired after 39 years at EKU, a
one-school tenure unmatched in all of Division I. Upon
retirement, he ranked sixth all-time among Division I
coaches with 315 victories, earning him a spot in the
College Football Hall of Fame.
In addition to Kidd, other coaching legends in the OVC
include Charles (Bubber) Murphy, who coached at Middle
Tennessee from 1947-1968, Western Kentucky’s Jimmy Feix
(1968-83), Wilburn Tucker (1954-67) and Don Wade
(1968-82) of Tennessee Tech, Bill Ferguson (1967-77) of
Murray State, Guy Penny (1959-67) of Morehead State and
Boots Donnelly (1977-78 at Austin Peay; 1979-1998 at
Middle Tennessee).
A sampling of former OVC football stars, some of whom
were all-Americans during their collegiate careers
before achieving stardom at the professional ranks,
include Jim Youngblood and Larry Schreiber (Tennessee
Tech), Phil Simms (Morehead State), Virgil Livers and
Dale Lindsey (Western Kentucky), Myron Guyton and Chad
Bratzke (Eastern Kentucky) and Tony Romo (Eastern
Illinois).
Football wasn’t the only sport in which the OVC was
quickly gaining respect. In 1955, the OVC became only
the second six-member league nationally to earn an
automatic bid to the prestigious NCAA Men's Basketball
Tournament, which, at that time, was limited to only 24
participants. The Conference quickly proved worthy of
that bid, as Morehead State defeated Marshall (107-92)
and Wayne State (95-84) in the 1956 tournament.
Fifteen years later, former OVC member Western Kentucky
became the first and only Conference team to reach the
Final Four. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville,
Kentucky and Ohio State before losing to Villanova in
double overtime. WKU went on to finish in third place
after beating Kansas 77-75 in the consolation game.
Since that time, the OVC has recorded some of the
biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
Perhaps the most famous moment came in 1987, when Austin
Peay came from fourth place in the regular season to win
the OVC Tournament and earn the league's automatic bid.
The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big
underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to
stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67
victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime
loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in
the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a
visit to Clarksville two months later.
Murray State added to the OVC's string of upsets in 1988
when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State,
78-75. The Racers' M&M Boys - Jeff Martin and Don Mann -
combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to
the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national
champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that
would've given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off
the rim with three seconds left. In 1990 as a No. 16
seed, Murray State took No. 1 seed Michigan State into
overtime before falling 75-71; that game still marks the
closest a No. 16 seed has come to knocking off a No. 1
in men’s tournament action. More recently, Murray State
has dominated the OVC Tournament, reaching the
championship game every year in the 1990's. The Racers’
13 OVC Tournament Championship are the most among all
OVC schools.
Through its 60 years, 11 teams have won or shared the
league's men's basketball title. Murray State heads the
list with a Conference-record 20 outright or shared
basketball crowns. Other past champions include former
member Western Kentucky (19), Morehead State (9), Austin
Peay (8), Eastern Kentucky (6), Tennessee Tech (5),
former member Middle Tennessee (5), Tennessee State (2),
former member East Tennessee State (2), Southeast
Missouri State (1) and former member Akron (1).
Among the coaching greats in men’s basketball have been
Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle, who retired with 759
victories and 10 OVC titles; John Oldham, who was a
member of the very first All-OVC squad and went on to
win seven OVC crowns during his coaching tenure at
Tennessee Tech and Western Kentucky; Paul McBrayer, who
guided Eastern Kentucky to 219 wins and three OVC
crowns; and Cal Luther, who is the only person in
Conference history to win men’s basketball Coach of the
Year honors at two league schools - Murray State and
Tennessee-Martin. Current Austin Peay head coach Dave
Loos ended the 2007-08 season with 295 victories, the
most all-time at Austin Peay and third most in OVC
history (behind Luther and Diddle).
There have been an equal number of great players
including Western Kentucky's Clem Haskins, who is the
only three-time OVC Player of the Year. Several players
have won OVC Player of the Year honors twice: Western
Kentucky's Jim McDaniels (1969-70 and 1970-71), Murray
State's Les Taylor (1971-72, 1972-73), Jeff Martin
(1987-88, 1988-89), Popeye Jones (1989-90, 1990-91) and
Marcus Brown (1994-95, 1995-96), Austin Peay's Otis
Howard (1976-77, 1977-78), Middle Tennessee's Jerry Beck
(1980-81, 1981-82), Akron's Joe Jakubick (1982-83,
1983-84) and Tennessee State's Carlos Rogers (1992-93,
1993-94).
The OVC also has the honor of being the only conference
to boast the nation's leaders in scoring, rebounding and
assists all in one season. That feat was accomplished in
1991-92 by Morehead State's Brett Roberts (28.1 ppg),
Murray State's Popeye Jones (14.4 rpg) and Tennessee
Tech's Van Usher (8.8 apg).
In 2007-08, UT Martin’s Lester Hudson became the first
men’s Division I player to record a quadruple-double in
a game, when he registered 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10
assists and 10 steals in a victory over Central Bapist
College.
In the late 1970s, women's athletics began somewhat of a
rebirth on the national scene as the NCAA began
sponsoring and marketing women's sports. Recognizing the
need to provide increased opportunities for female
athletes, the OVC established women's championships in
the sports of basketball, tennis and track in 1977, with
cross country and volleyball added over the next four
years. Those sports were initially governed by the
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, but
the overall strength of women's programs in the league
was demonstrated by the automatic bids the OVC instantly
received when the NCAA became the governing body in
1982.
Women's basketball in the OVC has been dominated by
Tennessee Tech, which has won or shared 16
regular-season titles and owns nine OVC Tournament
crowns. In fact, the Golden Eagles have reached the
championship game of the OVC Tournament 19 times in the
past 27 years. Although Tennessee Tech remains the
standard-bearer, four other teams have won 11 of the
last 15 OVC Tournaments. Murray State became the latest
program to add its name to the list, capturing its first
OVC Tournament title in 2008. Austin Peay leads the
quartet with five crowns, including four straight from
2000-03, while Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky and
Southeast Missouri each have won titles during that
span.
Several coaches have made their mark in the relatively
short history of OVC women’s basketball. Former
Tennessee Tech coach Marynell Meadors posted an amazing
363-139 (72.3%) record at Tech, becoming the first woman
in NCAA or AIAW history to win 300 games at the same
institution, while former Tennessee State skipper Teresa
Phillips earned National Coach of the Year honors from
USA Today in 1990 for turning around the Lady Tigers’
program before going on to lead TSU to the NCAA
Tournament in 1994 and 1995. Tennessee Tech coach Bill
Worrell capped a stellar 20-year career in 2005-06 and
was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2007; he
compiled a 408-190 record while leading the Golden
Eagles to an unprecedented 16 OVC regular-season titles
and eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including five
straight from 1989-93. Eastern Kentucky’s Larry Joe
Inman, who retired at the conclusion of the 2007-08
season, has won more than 100 games at both Middle
Tennessee and EKU, and has earned OVC Coach of the Year
honors a record eight times - five times at EKU and
three at MTSU. He finished his career with 480 career
victories
Many great players have graced the hardwood over the
years, including former OVC Players of the Year Brooke
Armistead and Gerlonda Hardin from Austin Peay, Pam
Chambers, Jerilynn Harper, Cheryl Taylor, Angela
Moorehead, Roschelle Vaughn, Diane Seng, Janet Holt and
Emily Christian from Tennessee Tech; Morehead State's
Donna Murphy and Priscilla Blackford, Eastern Kentucky's
Kim Mays and Southeast Missouri's Gray C. Harris.
The OVC’s first volleyball tournament was held in 1981,
the same year Eastern Kentucky began a string of six
straight tournament crowns. Former EKU skipper Dr. Geri
Polvino compiled a 627-439 record in 32 seasons as head
coach of the Colonels, earning OVC Coach of the Year
honors eight times. More recently, former Austin Peay
coach Cheryl Holt and former Southeast Missouri skipper
Cindy Gannon also earned their peers’ recognition
multiple times with four awards each.
Throughout the last 26 years, 10 different teams have
won an OVC regular-season or tournament volleyball
crown. Since joining the league in 1991, Southeast
Missouri has dominated the scene, winning seven of its
eight regular-season titles during the 1990’s, including
five straight from 1993-97. The Redhawks have also won
five tournament crowns (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999 and
2000). Jacksonville State was won back-to-back OVC
Tournament Championships (2005, 2006) including going
through the OVC undefeated (16-0) in 2006, while
Tennessee State claimed its first volleyball tournament
championship in 2008.
Following the 2007 season, Jacksonville State’s Abbey
Breit was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year for
the third straight season, becoming the first player in
OVC history to accomplish that feat. Four other
individuals - Eastern Kentucky’s Angela Boykins
(1985-86), Morehead State’s Dayle Hammontree (1988-89),
Southeast Missouri’s Tuba Meto (1996-97) and Morehead
State’s Amy Almond (2001-02) – were back-to-back winners
of the award.
In 2007, Eastern Kentucky’s Jacob Korir won his fourth
straight Conference cross country title becoming just
the third OVC student-athlete and 13th nationally to
accomplish that feat. Korir is a three-time All-American
in cross country, earning two top-10 finishes at the
NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Nairobi, Kenya,
native has also been named a track and field
All-American twice. Korir was selected as the OVC Male
Athlete of the Year in 2006-07 and received the NCAA
post graduate scholarship in 2008.
Through the early years of the league, administrators
wrestled with fan behavior due to the close proximity of
the Conference members and the intense rivalries which
developed. Just as it did decades ago, the OVC took the
leadership role on what has become a national issue. In
1995, the OVC implemented a first-of-its-kind
"Sportsmanship Statement,” a policy which promotes
principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for
one's opponent. The statement has become a model for
others to follow across the nation, and has answered the
challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve
sportsmanship in collegiate athletics.
Additionally, the OVC annually presents the Steve
Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, in honor of the former
Morehead State student-athlete, coach and athletics
director, to a junior or senior student-athlete with
significant athletic contributions who best exemplifies
the characteristics of sportsmanship and citizenship.
Most recently, the Conference has also implemented the
OVC Institutional and Team Sportsmanship Awards, which
are presented to one institution and 18 sport-specific
teams voted by their peers to have best exhibited the
standards of sportsmanship and ethical conduct as
outlined by the OVC and NCAA.
Over its 60 years, OVC teams have garnered national
championships and bowl games in football, along with
national team or individual titles in the sports of
rifle, cross country, track and golf.
The OVC has also produced several Olympic athletes,
including Murray State’s Morgan Hicks, who was a member
of the 2004 United States Olympic Rifle Team. In
addition, some of the greatest players in professional
sports were educated at OVC institutions. The list
includes former greats such as football’s Phil Simms
(Morehead State), basketball's Clem Haskins (Western
Kentucky) and Bubba Wells (Austin Peay) and two-sport
star Steve Hamilton (Morehead State) to present-day
standouts like basketball player Trenton Hassell (Austin
Peay), football player Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois),
baseball players Jamie Walker (Austin Peay) and George
Sherrill (Austin Peay) and professional golfer Jeff
Sluman (Tennessee Tech).
In 2007 the Conference had two teams in the NCAA Women’s
Soccer Tournament for the first time in league history,
former OVC member Samford earned an at-large selection
while Southeast Missouri was the Conference’s automatic
bid.
A first in the OVC occurred in 2008, when the league had
a first round draft pick in both the NFL (Tennessee
State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and Major League
Baseball (Eastern Kentucky’s Christian Friedrich) Drafts
in the same school year.
The playing field isn't the only place where OVC
athletes are working hard. The league also recognizes
excellence in the classroom. Six Scholar-Athlete Awards
are presented yearly to male and female athletes, while
others are commended for their academic success by being
Medal of Honor recipients or earning a spot on the
Commissioner's Honor Roll. Additionally, the league
annually presents one institutional Academic achievement
Award, as well as separate team awards in each
Conference-sponsored sport.
The vision of leadership demonstrated by the Founding
Fathers in 1948 remains alive today as the Ohio Valley
Conference prepares for the future. One example is in
regard to the current trend in collegiate athletics
administration for increased involvement of university
presidents in setting policies and making rules. The
presidents of OVC institutions, however, have always
governed the Conference, long before presidential
governance became a national theme.
The Ohio Valley Conference sponsors the following
sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football,
golf, tennis and track for men, and basketball, cross
country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and
volleyball for women. In addition, the OVC also sponsors
the combined men's and women's sport of rifle.
Now in its sixth decade of competition, the Ohio Valley
Conference has grown significantly from its humble
beginnings while increasing the number of athletics
opportunities it provides for students. Current league
representatives include charter members Eastern Kentucky
University, Morehead State University and Murray State
University, along with Austin Peay State University,
Eastern Illinois University, Jacksonville State
University, Southeast Missouri State University,
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Tennessee
State University, Tennessee Technological University and
the University of Tennessee at Martin.
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